Mistress Shakespeare by Karen Harper

"I cursed him and began to cry. This man did not deserve my tears, my time, my love. It was flattering perhaps, in some perverted way, that he was sometimes jealous of me, but he had no right---no right, but that I loved him and ever would, and he surely yet loved me above all safety and sanity."
                                                -from the novel


After plodding through the mostly depressing A Casual Vacancy, this novel was a breath of fresh air! Although I am no anglophile and my knowledge of Shakespeare is minimal, I really enjoyed the novel.

The story is told by Shakespeare's first wife, Anne Whately, wed to him only days before he is forced to marry the pregnant Anne Hathaway. She tells us that she and Will were friends from childhood and lovers after that until he dies. At the beginning of this fictional memoir, Mistress Shakespeare gives the reader "the rendering of [her] thoughts, emotions, and experiences [which are] part comedy and part tragedy as well as history, for life is such a mingling. And so, [she writes] this report of the woman born Anne Rosaline Whately, she who both detested and adored a man named William Shakespeare." This is the story in a nutshell.

Through half a century Anne and Will again and again disagree, separate and come back together. They survive deaths of friends and family members, political witch hunts, fire and plague, despair and phenomenal success. To Will, Anne is muse, assistant and even rescuer---more than once. It has been said that behind every great man is a woman and in this novel Queen Elizabeth is quoted as saying something similar to Anne Whately. If the premise of the book is to be believed the woman behind Shakespeare was Anne Whately, wife "not of his hearth but of his heart."

I gave Mistress Shakespeare a rating of 4. I especially liked the quotes from Shakespeare's works which made me want to attend a play or at least see the movie "Shakespeare in Love."

When the book club met to discuss the novel, one member went to some trouble to find and prepare recipes from the period, including an odd gingerbread. Along with those items, hot apple cider and apple crisp provided lovely refreshment for the group. We had a lively discussion using questions from the author's website. Members' ratings averaged 3.9. Among the observations and comments were:

• the author's use of quasi-Elizabethan language was annoying
• the story was believable
• hearing such a revered literary figure as Shakespeare called "Will" was surprising and difficult to get used to
• there is interest in reading other works by this author

Mistress Shakespeare is an entertaining read, at the very least.

The Casual Vacancy by J.K.Rowling

"6.11   A casual vacancy is deemed to have occurred:
           (a)  when a local councilor fails to make his declaration of acceptance of office within the proper time; or
           (b)  when his notice of resignation is received; or
           (c)  on the day of his death....
                                Charles Arnold-Baker, Local Council Administration, Seventh Edition"
                                                   -from the novel

Whew! I finally finished this one! What a disappointment it was! I have been a huge fan of the Harry Potter series by this author so I was looking forward to reading her first departure.  I usually finish a book in a week or less. This one took at least twice as long, definitely not a page turner.

The story revolves around the sudden death of Barry Fairbrother, which leaves a seat on the Parish Council in the small town of Pagford. (This, of course, is the casual vacancy.) Several snobbish, self-absorbed characters become political enemies in vying for the seat.  Add in some other small-minded characters who are seemingly at war---rich vs. poor, wives vs. husbands, teenagers vs. parents---and you get a tedious 500-page read. Where Rowling's Harry Potter novels were enchanting and oh, so creative, A Casual Vacancy is quite depressing. It seems as if she is trying too hard to break away from her niche as a children's author with disturbing adult themes, highly dysfunctional families and lots of foul language. I can only give this novel a 2 because I pretty much forced myself to finish it.

I do plan to read The Cuckoo's Calling by Rowling under the pen name  Robert Galbraith.  Her writing is still excellent. The Casual Vacancy is just NOT a good story. As one reviewer said, this novel has a vacancy of heart.

Death, Dickinson and the Demented Life of Frenchie Garcia by Jenny Torres Sanchez

"And now, I'll tell you the only thing that matters. It's that you make your own future. People come here for answers, looking for something, looking for hope or promise. He came here looking for confirmation....Confirmation is something we can never give you. Warnings, perhaps, but never confirmation. I can't confirm anything. Because the future is like clay, every day you mold it, every day people leave impressions that change its form. It's never concrete, it's always changing. We might see some things, possibilities, but you are the one who decides what form your life takes."
                       -the psychic reader to Frenchie

I chose this book for our book club in support of Jenny Torres Sanchez, the author. She is a member of our church and I had heard her read an excerpt at a church event where local authors and poets were invited to share their work. I was intrigued by the premise of a young woman's coping with the suicide of a peer. I chose the book knowing it is a young adult fiction and our group is far from young! I invited the author to our meeting to discuss the book and she did.

I thought the book was very well-written and the characters were believable. There was philosophy that made me think, such as the quote above and Colin's ideas on good and bad in Chapter 24. I enjoyed the poetry by Emily Dickinson which was so appropriately placed. The setting of Orlando was particularly interesting since it is our hometown. Many locations such as Greenwood Cemetery and Lake Eola are very familiar to us.

The novel is an emotional ride, to say the least, as the main character Frenchie deals with confusion, grief, guilt and depression. The juxtaposition of THAT NIGHT and TONIGHT was an excellent technique to keep the reader engaged.

We had a rousing discussion of the novel at our meeting. It was wonderful to have the author there to tell us of her writing process and how this novel came about. We had no prepared discussion questions this time but we didn't need them; group members had so many questions to ask the author. Of course she autographed copies of our books for us, as well.

I rated Death, Dickinson and the Demented Life of Frenchie Garcia a 4 and the group's average was the same.  I had a feeling if the readers were in their teens and twenties it would have been higher! This was Jenny's second novel. I plan to read her first, The Downside of Being Charlie soon.

Stolen into Slavery, the True Story of Solomon Northup, Free Black Man by Judith and Dennis Fradin

"Think of it! For thirty years a man, with all a man's hopes, fears, and aspirations---with a wife and children to call him husband and father---with a home, humble it may be. Then for twelve years a thing, classed with mules and horses, torn from his home and family, and driven to toil in a cotton field, by the lash of an inhuman master. Oh! It is horrible. It chills the blood."
             -Frederick Douglas, writing about Solomon Northup's story
    
This was really not the book I intended to read. After seeing a preview of a movie called "Twelve Years a Slave" I thought perhaps I should read the book before seeing the film. I ordered this one from the library but perhaps the movie is based on Twelve Years a Slave, an autobiography of Solomon Northup. At any rate Stolen into Slavery is a children's biography and was a quick and easy read. I cannot say it was enjoyable because, of course, the subject matter is very intense. It has probably prepared me somewhat to see the movie, which I am sure will be quite graphic in its portrayal of Solomon's harsh treatment as a slave. I would give the book a 4 and recommend it for students ages 11 and up. There is nothing that gives you better insight into an era of history than a good historical fiction or biography of the time.